Officers | Club History

• Officers

• COMMODORE

                                 A. LUNT                                      Tel:  020 7357 7774 – 07904 268510

• OFFICERS

• GENERAL COMMITTEE

• CLASS SECRETARIES

• SEABIRD ASSOCIATION REPRESENTATIVES

                                    J.P. Withinshaw         (Past President)

                                    Mrs. S.A. Campbell   (Hon. Secretary/Treasurer)

                                    A.G. Thompson          (Class Secretary)

                                    Mrs. E.  Soutter

                                    S.  Crook

                                    R. Porter

• PORTH DIANA BOAT YARD

                                   C. PRITCHARD        Tel:  01407 861293

• Club History

At the end of the 1914-1918 war there were a dozen or so sailing boats at Trearddur Bay, and in the first August after the war some of us thought it would be fun to race them. So a race was arranged and the following boats took part: -

White Heather       18 foot half-decker (William Smellie – winner)

Vanity                       17 foot half-decker (H. J. Ryalls)

Alana                        17 foot dinghy (J.R. Smellie)

Elf                               14.5 foot dinghy (F. Buckley)

Lady Betty               14 foot dinghy (J. W. Harvie)

Wagtail                    13 foot dinghy (D. C. Bucknall)

The starting line was between a mark on the Cod Rocks and Fan Tan, which was anchored in the Bay. The starter was Hugh Roberts of the Trearddur Bay Hotel, who used a shot gun firing an ordinary cartridge with the shot removed in case he hit anyone. The course was the present 14-footer course.

On the 23^rd August a meeting was held at the Trearddur Bay Hotel at which it was decided to form a Club. It was attended by various members of the following families:-

Alexanders, Buckleys, Bucknalls, Eckersleys, Goods, Roberts, Russells, Ryalls, Slaters, Smellies and Woods.

Of these the only ones still having members in the Club would appear to be the Buckleys, Goods, Smellies and Woods.

By the end of that summer the following families, among others, had joined:-

Baxters, Evans, Harvies, Mathews, Monsarrats, Munros, Reekies, Romes, Roydens, Shaws, Taylors, Thornewills, Warings and Williams.

These were reckoned as foundation members, about 55 in all, and they paid no entrance fee. The annual subscription was fixed at half a guinea, with an entrance fee of the same sum for those joining thereafter. (In 1921 a certain C. W. Maxwell Reekie was elected as a junior member).

By August 1920 the Club already had two one-design classes, the Myths and the Insects.

The plans for the Myths were drawn by Morgan Giles and the boat was a typical Prince of Wales Cup type. The T.B.S.C. founding fathers thought this a bit too sporty for children in the open sea, so it was modified to the present design, but because of this Morgan Giles refused to have his name associated with it.

The Insects were meant to be B.R.A. 12-footers. The plans were sent to Matthew Owen at Menai Bridge and the Insects were the answer. When someone some years later has a real B.R.A. dinghy built by Dickies it raised a problem, as it was obviously a different boat. However in due course Dickie built some more and so a separate class was formed.

The first half-rater appeared in 1921, and she too presented a problem because, although she conformed to the design, she had broken the Seabird Association rules by being built singly and for one specific owner. However when they found that she was no better than the others the Association accepted her as legitimate.

In 1921 the Novice Races were started and also the rule that crews must wear lifebelts.

In 1922 Sir Francis Dent became the Club’s first Commodore, which he remained until he left Holyhead in 1933. In 1922 also we adopted the present starting line, operating from the headland. There is a photograph of the starting officers featuring Sir Francis, Cuthbert Beckett and Mr. And Mrs. Ernest Royden. I don’t recognise the small boy with his hand on the flag halliard.

Other “firsts” are:-

1920 – the first protest, and the first  burgee, a red, white and blue pennant – not very distinguished and changed to the present one in 1922.

1923 – in May of that year it was decided to issue the annual Club booklet. That year also the Club was recognised by the Y.R.A.

1924 – first T.B.S.C. Dance and the Perck placed on the Cod Rocks. First T.B.S.C. Regatta at Trearddur Bay.

1925 – Rowing and Swimming Races started.

1928 – present Club flagstaff erected in memory of the honorary secretary who had drowned the previous season.

1929 – All-comers Race started as a feature of the Regatta.

This year the Club was appointed as the mooring authority for Trearddur Bay by the Board of Trade, with a view to controlling the large number of moorings now required in the Bay.

There hasn’t been a lot of change since the completion of those first ten years – except in the number of boats and members. 

J. R. S.